Day 8 – A Song to Match My Mood

Day 7 - My Dream Wedding

This is my dream wedding.  Family and friends.  Good food.  Good music.  Love and laughter.  Cake and coffee.

And getting (diplomatically) kicked out of the venue because we've overstayed; our guests were having too much fun that nobody wanted to leave.  A first, according to our wedding coordinators. :)

Day 6: A photo of an animal you’d love to keep as a pet.

I want this FAT CAT.  I'm going to hug him to pieces.

December 20. So What's New?

Finally.  I have opened my blogger dashboard after a long hiatus.  I am OVERWHELMED by my blogging folder.  So many photos, so many stories and I have failed to upload 90% of its contents.

Nards and I have been so blessed to be busy with work.   I realize I miss the long hours I used to pull in UP (plus the long hours I was buried deep in dusty books in the library).   I am hoping we would have a more relaxed schedule after Christmas, and hopefully I can blog more.  And bake more.  I miss baking.

I hope you all won't mind if I just pick up where I left off on the 30 day challenge.  I still want to finish that!  I'll be posting Day 6 right after this.

Christmas is around the corner and I can't wait! Nards and I will get to spend two straight days with our families, attend mass at our favorite church, catch up with everyone and celebrate this wonderful holy season with people we love.



Click here for photo source

Incidentally my sister wants Danbo for Christmas.  I wonder how much is shipping from Amazon jp to here....

Paalam Bahay ng Bagong Bato

I am saying goodbye to my favorite radio station.   It is was my constant companion while growing up: all the way from sixth grade, when they first aired, when my Mom got me this sleek radio/walkman.

My siblings and I have a lot of fantastic bonding moments because of NU.

I gained friends because of NU:JD, Gli, Theta, Neil, Dev, Rain and the other guys from the z&j egroup.








Also worked with NU peeps, who are our co-volunteers in Rock Ed: Isabelle, Francis and Andie.

Goodbye NU.   I will miss you.

quarklovesyou:

it’s time to come clean, everyone. after 23 years, NU107 is finally closing shop. we’re sorry it took so long for us to confirm this. we were hoping for a miracle,i guess.
so just hear this and then we’ll go. you gave us more to live for, more than you’ll ever know. :)

P.S.  They're also the reason why I'm such a snob and have developed this aversion to bullcrap music that they call pop but is not actually pop.

Day 5: A Photo of Myself Two Years Ago

Portrait by Markku & Hana

Day 4: Photograph of my Best Friend(s)

A cornucopia of lunacy

Day 3: The Perfect First Date

First Date - (awkwardness + pretending to be someone you're not) + good conversation + fun = Perfect First Date

Day 2

Something I ate: savory fried chicken with pancit canton, lumpiang shianghai and steamed rice.

*burp

P.S.  I still think the savory fried chicken at Ling Nam is the best. ;-)

Day 1

Today was a good day. Nards and I went to visit my parents and siblings. After lunch, my sister and I went shopping. Getting me to go shopping is close to impossible, as I avoid the mall at all cost. But it's time for me to get new clothes, so I'm thankful to my sister who dragged me to her favorite shop (Loalde), forced me to fit clothes and succeeded in making me purchase a dress and a top. And I got a new pair of Sanuks -- the flipflops made out of yoga mat. They're just heavenly on my feet.

In the evening, Nards and I went to my favorite coffee and cake shop on Tomas Morato and met with an online seller who was selling longchamps. I got two: one for my Mom and another for my Mother in Law for Christmas. :)

30 Day Challenge

I got this from Patti.  It's an ongoing challenge on tumblr, and I've decided to cross post it here.  I'm hoping it will help me get my groove back in blogging.   Maybe you can join me? :)

Wish me luck!


Day 1 – A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was.
Day 2 – A photo of something you ate today.
Day 3 – Your idea of the perfect first date.
Day 4 – Your favorite photograph of your best friend.
Day 5 – A photo of yourself two years ago.
Day 6 – A photo of an animal you’d love to keep as a pet.
Day 7 – Your dream wedding.
Day 8 – A song to match your mood.
Day 9 – A photo of the item you last purchased.
Day 10 – A photo of your favorite place to eat.
Day 11 – What’s in your makeup bag?
Day 12 – A photograph of the town you live in.
Day 13 – Your favorite musician and why?
Day 14 – A TV show you’re currently addicted to.
Day 15 – Something you don’t leave the house without.
Day 16 – Your celebrity crush.
Day 17 – A photo of you and your family.
Day 18 – Something you crave a lot.
Day 19 – Another picture of yourself.
Day 20 – The meaning behind your blog name.
Day 21 – A photo of something that makes you happy.
Day 22 – A letter to someone who has hurt you recently.
Day 23 – 15 facts about you.
Day 24 – A photo of something that means a lot to you.
Day 25 – What’s in your purse?
Day 26 – A photo of somewhere you’ve been to.
Day 27 – A picture of you last year and now and how have you changed since then?
Day 28 – Your favorite movie.
Day 29 – Something you could never get tired of doing.
Day 30 – A photograph of yourself today + three good things that have happened in the past 30 days.

Chocolate Cupcakes

It's been months since I last posted here!  My blog entries folder is full and I have yet to get my groove back in blogging.

Thought I'd like to share part of my quest in finding the ultimate chocolate cupcake recipe for Nards.  Have I mentioned he's a certified chocoholic?  He has a very discriminating taste on anything with chocolate.  Especially on baked goods.

I found this recipe online and thought I'd give it a whirl.

I'm old school.  I write all my recipes down on this notebook.

Recipe called for the usual ingredients plus lemon juice.  It's my first time to use this on chocolate cupcakes.

Sift the dry ingredients.

The recipe said to combine a cup of milk and 1 tbsp of lemon juice and to heat it in the microwave for a minute or so.

Mix the dry and the wet ingredients.  I love it when the eggs are fresh. :)

Lined two muffin trays with paper liners that I got from the Cocoa Pantry. (Safe to say na suki na ako dito. :P  Thank heavens I can buy from them online.)

I used a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop the batter onto the liners.  I like to be precise.  Borderline OC ako when it comes to baking.  It's at this stage that Nards wants to sprinkle a pinch of sugar just to throw me off.  I swear.

After 20 mins at 350C.

Cooling on the wire rack.

Let me just say at this point, that the cupcakes got overbaked.  I didn't want to buy a kitchen timer, so I use my phone for an alarm.  Unfortunately, my phone rang (Nan, calling from a photobooth gig) and the alarm automatically went on snooze.  So this batch stayed in the oven 3-4 minutes more than it should.  Suffice to say, that it's no longer moist. 

The next batch stayed exactly for 20 minutes, but that was also overbaked.  I'll have to adjust the baking time to 13-15 minutes next time.

With that said, I took a few hours to decide what to do with the cupcakes.  On one hand, I had a can of dulce de leche that I made a month or so ago.  On the other hand, I had a block of bittersweet chocolate, heavy whipped cream and butter.  But this is for Nards so the dulce de leche went back to the pantry.  Besides, he likes that on banana cream pies.

Very simple recipe for chocolate ganache.

Chopped bittersweet chocolate.

Cream plus the butter on medium heat.  Bring to a boil and...

...pour over the chopped chocolate.  Let it sit for 5 minutes or so.

Mix until well blended, carpal tunnel syndrome or not.

So did Nards like it?  He had three yesterday: one pre-frosting, and two after I slathered ganache on it.  Then he had two after breakfast today.  

I guess he liked it. :)

He liked it more after it was refrigerated.   Go figure. :D

Engagement Shoot

Yesterday, Nards and I went to Pasig for an engagement shoot.  I was delighted they had a pair of dogs: Mika and Martini, the former a mongrel and the latter a Jack Russel terrier.    (I am pet-deprived.  Nards has yet to concede to getting a cat after Figaro's passing, and we're unable to bring home any of the puppies that his Mom gives me because of our lack of space.) 

The couple had a lovely home, and reflected their personalities: chic, carefree, artsy and edgy.   We can't wait to see them again at their wedding at the end of the month. :)

Before Meeting with Mitzie & Steph

Mitzie, Steph and I had a long lunch at Seven Corners before Mitzie boarded her plane in the evening.  The previous night, while Nards was at the UPM anniv party, I was on the phone with her most of the evening.  We agreed to do some last minute shopping with Steph in Galleria, then lunch, then a hotel car will drive her to the airport.

I picked up Nards from the party past 2AM.  When I got there, he was buzzed, as was most of his org mates to whom he introduced me.  It was funny, I even saw one of his older org mates, sitting out front, clearly in a drunken stupor, with a wreath of leaves on his head.  I drove home, and the two of us had soup at 3AM.  We were supposed to get up at 7AM and have breakfast with Mitzie.  Clearly, that wasn't going to happen, but I was still hoping.

I set my alarm at 7AM and a second alarm at 7:15AM.  Of course, I slept through it.  Even turned it off in my sleep.  I woke up at 11AM, rolled over to check my watch.  It took me a minute to remember everything.  I was terribly late!  I quickly scrambled out of bed, took the fastest shower in history, made a quick decision to leave Nards to recover from last night, tossed some stuff in my bag, and grabbed the nearest camera bag.  (Thank heavens, it contained a camera with a battery and a card.  Last time I did that, I forgot the card and spare battery.)

To my amazement, I found a good parking spot, very near the mall entrance, despite the day being a holiday (presidential inauguration) and the time (lunch <-- lahat ng tao nasa mall na).

Then I realized I forgot my cellphone, and I had no way to get in touch with either of the girls.  So I went back to the basement parking, to the bank of payphones and called home, hoping that Nards would get up to answer it.  I learned a new thing: local phone calls via payphones are Php1.00 per minute. I still remember when it costs 75 centavos for 3 minutes (cue Dingdong Avanzado).  To make a long story short, Nards called Steph and Mitzie using my cellphone and he told them where I was.

Finally, I met with them.  I was slightly frazzled but recovered when we got to Mitzie's hotel room and I nibbled on the cheesecake she ordered for me from room service.

Then I took portraits.

Okay, first of all, Mitzie is not the easiest subject to photograph.  I took a total of 135 pictures, and only got less than 30 usable photos.  Steph and I had a great time with the impromptu shoot.  Mitzie broke out in cold sweat.  And I think there was a near panic attack hidden there somewhere.

My lunch: roast beef sandwich.  I didn't feel like taking on the buffet. 

A couple of hours later, Mitzie left for the airport and Steph and I went home.  I was utterly exhausted. 

Can't wait for her next visit :D  Let's go to Ilog Maria na.

Tumbling Along

I should really set aside one day to post my backlog entries, photos and whatnot.  My blog folder is quite full.  Work keeps me busy, but that's only half the reason why I'm unable to update my blog.

The other half is tumbr.

If you have one, add me. :)  

I'm still keeping my fingers crossed about updating my blog in the next two weeks. Wish me luck!

Thursday Celebrations

My siblings and I were on a conference call this afternoon and both were giddy with good news.  So we went to Momo's to celebrate.

Happy!

Phanie joined us :)

Appetizer, assortment of veggie, chips and bread with a crab and three-cheese dip. (That's my sister's french manicured hands holding a carrot stick.)

Bread is such a luxury.  Especially when toasted right and served with a side of cheese butter spread.

 Phanie's and Beng's order: meatloaf.

 Paolo's: fried chicken

Nards and mine: fish and chips.  (About time!  I've been craving for weeks!)

 Sweet ending: choc-nut!  

Must go back to Momo to try their other dishes.

We all went home stuffed to the gills.  But Nards and I were looking for something sweet.  We were lucky to chance upon an open Bread Talk, where we got this mango chocolate cake in a cup. 

-----------------------------------------------

I have been so remiss in updating this blog.  I have a couple of entries in drafts waiting to be published.  I hope I can post all of them by next week.

Published!

Whee!  That's a photo I took!  The one with the girl.  This was from the Padyak shoot we did last year. :)